Pret A Manger invests £10m in staff pay bringing salaries above inflation October 11, 2022 Pret A Manger will invest £10m to support its staff with the cost of living crisis, bringing pay above inflation. The outlet will give its workers a salary boost from 1 December to the tune of five per cent. This comes after the coffee chain invested £9.2m in April this year, with 6,500 of its [...]
Spike in package holidays and foreign travel may be ‘rare positive legacy of pandemic’ October 11, 2022 Foreign holidays are back with a bang with 45 per cent of people going abroad in the last year. The latest study from travel agent association ABTA found the level of foreign travel in the last 12 months was equivalent to 70 per cent of that in 2019, pre pandemic. With coronavirus restrictions lifted, a [...]
UK unemployment falls to 50 year-low amid jobs market exodus October 11, 2022 A sharp rise in the number of Brits dropping out of the jobs market altogether has artificially pushed the UK unemployment rate down to its lowest level since the mid 1970s, official figures published today reveal. The volume of people in the UK not looking for work climbed around 330,000 over the last three months, [...]
Sturgeon says she’ll ‘never give up’ on independence as referendum court hearing to start October 10, 2022 Nicola Sturgeon has said she will “never, ever give up” on Scottish independence, just a day before a Supreme Court hearing will begin over the legality of a new referendum. The Scottish First Minister claimed at the SNP’s annual conference that “the nations of these islands will work together better with independence than we do [...]
West End has 109 per cent sales boost but retail leaders call for ‘urgent’ business reform October 10, 2022 West End retailers are calling for fresh support and radical reform to help continue their pandemic recovery. The organisation representing 600 outlets and hospitality firms in Bond St, Oxford St, Regent St and Mayfair announced the district is returning to pre-coronavirus levels, but that it still needs help to stop it faltering. The New West [...]
Exclusive: Most business managers don’t think it’s their job to help staff with cost of living woes October 6, 2022 Most business leaders do not see it as their responsibility to support staff with financial woes. New figures exclusively shared with City A.M. this morning from financial wellbeing Mintago lifts the lid on a lack of strategy for British firms during the cost of living crisis. Surveying 762 managers, almost 40 per cent said they [...]
Amazon to pay staff £500 cost of living payment as union urges tech giant to do more October 6, 2022 Amazon will make a one-off payment of up to £500 for its hourly paid employees to help them with the cost of living crunch while it attempts to fend off union criticism on pay. Employees will receive two instalments of £250, one this month and one later in December. It comes as Amazon has received [...]
Mark Kleinman: Vodafone pressure, steel woes and a new business boss October 6, 2022 Mark Kleinman is the man the City reads – and in his fortnightly column for City A.M., he shares his insight and analysis. Vodafone boss hopes deal eases the pressure At last, an engaged tone. Two months after I wrote in this column that Nick Read, the Vodafone chief executive, was looking nervously over his [...]
OPEC+ finalises heavy oil output cuts in bid to boost sliding prices October 5, 2022 The world's most influential oil cartel, OPEC+, has agreed to its deepest cuts in production since the pandemic.
Outrageous raging inflation, and the distortion of CPI October 5, 2022 This week, Dr Chris Kacher pours scorn on CPI while speculating on what might happen if quantitive easing is introduced again.